Minneapolis Institute of Art

Yoshiwara Courtesan, from Selections from the Brocade Quarter (E-awase kingaishō)

Kikukawa Eizan

Date

c. 1815

Medium

Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A ranking prostitute and a young customer are enveloped by layers of robes and brocades, a porcelain planter with blooming plum blossoms at the upper left. The poem at the upper left reads: To none other than you Is the scent of the plum blossom Given to smell; The color and the fragrance Known only to you. Plum blossoms are associated with early spring and new beginnings, such as the loss of virginity. Apparently this is the first time for the young man who is overwhelmed by the encounter: 'The Tale of Genji' tells everything of the beauty of Lady Murasaki, but you are just as beautiful, above comparison to even the moon or the flowers. When I look at your figure and your dress, it seems to me that you are the finest in the world. Japan, Asia

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.